The Tools Of Systems Thinking

Leadership Workshop (8 of 12) – Spread Systems Thinking

Eloquently written by Eric Douglas, the innovative new leadership book titled Leading at Light Speed has become an invaluable resource that intermingles the most influential business practices into 10 Quantum Leaps. These “leaps” help to build trust, spark innovation, and create a high-performing organization. Chapter 7 is all about Systems Thinking.

When you use Systems Thinking, you become more aware of the impalpable forces influencing your organization. Small signals will become more important and symptoms become relegated to the background as you identify the true underlying causes. You will become able to identify the many patterns of recurring behavior reinforced by either positive “learning loops” or negative “ignorance loops.” You will come to understand the importance of constantly challenging a vast array of assumptions. Furthermore, you will begin to appreciate that one can neither be too hasty nor too deliberate. Timing is of the essence.

Systems Thinking teaches us that we can only see change and trends across appropriate time scales. Sometimes we underestimate the pace of change; other times we overestimate it. “A leader must be able to see the strategic importance of a particular trend, highlight it, and then instigate a response with the appropriate level of urgency” is how one senior manager puts it.

For example, when Intel’s orders declined in the early 2000s, the entire computer industry went through a spasm of contraction under the assumption that if Intel goes down, so does everyone else. This violent contraction resulted, vastly, from an oversimplified understanding of the complex supply chain relationships within the industry. This assumption caused many chip manufacturers to be late responding to the boom that began in 2003.

Coincidentally, during the recession of 2008-2009, many people assumed that all industries would be affected. This assumption drove down the share values of nearly every company in every sector. On the contrary, the downturn didn’t affect certain industries – such as technology and health care – nearly as much as it affected others, like housing and the auto industry. Furthermore, some industries that experts had considered beyond recovery, such as banking, made surprisingly quick recoveries. Utilizing Systems Thinking allows people to analyze questions independently and avoid “group think”

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